WHAT IS ATX 3.1 AND ATX3.0 DISTINCTIONS?

A new revision to the ATX PSU specification has recently been announced in the form of ATX 3.1 to further improve PC performance in terms of both efficiency and safety. In this article, we will go over ATX 3.1 performance and features, and the unique benefits of XYZPOWER’s own ATX 3.1 products.

What changes does ATX 3.1 bring?

? The older cable type used in ATX 3.0 is called 12VHPWR, an abbreviation for 12 Volt High Power.

? The new cable type used in ATX 3.1 is 12V-2x6, which stands for 12 Volt 2 rows of 6 pins.

The new 12V-2x6 interface is fully compatible with the 12VHPWR interface. Essentially, the new 3.1 interface looks almost identical and is completely interchangeable, allowing for all the functionality of the old interface, but with improved safety and efficiency. Specifically, the power pins have been lengthened by 0.25mm to improve connection reliability by increasing contact area and reducing temperature. In addition, the signal pin has been shortened by 1.5mm, ensuring that it is easier for the user to fully insert the module cable for a safe and reliable connection.

As detailed in INTEL's new ATX 3.1 specification, once the cables are connected to the GPU pins ‘Sence 0’ and ‘Sens 1’, the GPU is internally shorted. This signals the PSU that the connection is solid and the GPU is ready to receive power from the mains.

Whereas in older ATX 3.0, these pins are open, which means that the connection between the PSU cable and the GPU doesn't have to be too firm. Such a connection often leads to overheating and poses a risk for PC use.

In addition, the 12V-2x6 interface is available in 150W and 300W power modes, with more entry-level power options in addition to the 450W and 600W modes.

These changes ensure that the 12V-2x6 interface improves on all the shortcomings of the 12VHPWR interface, while providing several performance and reliability improvements. In addition, the version of the PSU module cable and GPU interface can be simply identified by the following:

-12VHPWR (older) interface labelled ‘H+’.

-12V-2x6 (newer) interfaces are labelled ‘H++’.

The H+ and H++ interfaces and cables are compatible with each other and work perfectly well together. However, all of the additional security benefits of ATX 3.1 are not available if H+ is used in combination with H++. Specifically, combining H+ and H++ loses the solid connection that H++ alone provides.